Part -1:
Act - Scene 1
1. Why is Ophelia so upset when she enters? What has happened to her? Does Hamlet's appearance (in her telling) as a madman (a distracted lover) come as a surprise after what we last heard him say? Why would he appear in this sort of madness to her? Is there any possibility he really is a distracted lover responding to Ophelia's apparent rejection of him?
2. What is Polonius' response to what Ophelia tells him? Where are they going?
Act - Scene 2
1. Why have Rosencrantz and Guildenstern come to court? What is their relation to Hamlet? What use does Claudius have for them? Does this remind you of Polonius' use for Reynaldo? Are there any significant differences?
2. We've now had several different explanations of Hamlet's madness: love, his father's death, and that plus "our o'erhasty marriage" (note Gertrude's awareness of impropriety). Are people content with these explanations? Are you?
3. What results have come from Cornelius' and Voltemand's trip to Norway? Has Claudius' use of diplomacy rather than war been justified? What will Fortinbras be doing next? Can we expect to see him in Denmark after all? Why?
4. Refer to the scene between Hamlet and Polonius. How does Hamlet behave when he enters? Does Polonius think he is mad? Is this the way we would expect Hamlet to act after Ophelia's description in 2.1? Why does he call Polonius a fishmonger? (It may help to know that fishmongers' wives, and daughters, apparently because of the fish, were assumed to be extremely fertile and thus able to conceive easily - and thus the connection.)
5. How does Hamlet behave initially with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? Is it different from the way he just acted with Polonius? How does Hamlet change when he realizes that the two were sent for by Claudius and Gertrude?
6. What connections does the content of the First Player's speech have with the play Hamlet?
7. Read Hamlet's third soliloquy carefully. How does he use the player's response to show how different his own position is? Is the comparison justified by what we have seen happen in the play? He complains that he hasn't acted on his vengeance. Why hasn't he? Why does he need the play? What will he learn from it?
Part -2:
Act - Scene 1
1. Read Hamlet's fourth soliloquy carefully. How is this soliloquy different from the first two? Think about the way Hamlet's mind works within the first two - is the same thing happening here? What is the main idea of this third soliloquy? (For an interesting variant of this speech, you might want to look at the duke's version in chapter 21 of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - a great parody/pastiche.)
2. What happens between Hamlet and Ophelia in the so-called "Nunnery scene"? Does Hamlet know that he's being watched? Does he determine that during the scene? Can you spot a place where he might? (Remember how he changed his way of talking to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.) Who is the "one" referred to in "all but one"?
3. What does it add to note that in talking about marriage Hamlet seems to be echoing St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 7?
1 Corinthians 7 states:
Now concerning the things whereof you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2But for fear of fornication, let every man have his own wife: and let every woman have her own husband. 3Let the husband render the debt to his wife: and the wife also in like manner to the husband. 4The wife has not power of her own body: but the husband. And in like manner the husband also has not power of his own body: but the wife. 5Defraud not one another, except, perhaps, by consent, for a time, that you may give yourselves to prayer: and return together again, lest Satan tempt you for your incontinency. 6But I speak this by indulgence, not by commandment. 7For I would that all men were even as myself. But every one has his proper gift from God: one after this manner, and another after that.8But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they so continue, even as I. 9But if they do not contain themselves, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to be burnt.
4. How does Claudius respond to what he has seen and heard? Is he convinced that love is the cause of Hamlet's madness? What does he plan to do about Hamlet? How does Polonius respond? Is he willing to give up his "love" answer? What does he propose as an additional way to find out what Hamlet is thinking? Are you surprised that it includes spying?
Act - Scene 2
1. How does the play-within-the-play (The Mousetrap) reflect the issues bothering Hamlet? Can you identify the lines he has had inserted? (Don't worry, nobody else can either.) Interestingly, the story of Gonzago as known outside Hamlet turns into a revenge story, with Gonzago's son revenging his father's death. So what we've seen is only the first few minutes of a much longer play. What lines would hit the intended audience hardest? Although Hamlet is interested in Claudius' response, notice that so far Gertrude has taken the strongest "hits" (except, perhaps, for the poisoning in the ear - one of the new "Italianate" evil inventions, a way to murder someone without it appearing to be murder). Consider also the Player King's more abstract speech in 3.2.
First line Player King: "I do believe you think what now you speak" to last line "But die thy thoughts when they first lord is dead."
How does this speech reflect issues that appear elsewhere in the play?
2. What is Claudius' mood as he stops the play? How does Hamlet respond? Hamlet seems to have learned that Claudius is indeed guilty (if that's indeed why Claudius stopped the play and not for some other reason). But Claudius has also learned something from the presentation of the play. What has Claudius learned? What does Hamlet think he (Hamlet) has learned, and what is his mood?
3. Read Hamlet's fifth soliloquy carefully.
"'Tis now the very witching time of night"
How is it different from the other soliloquies? What is the mood of the soliloquy? How do you react to it? What is happening to Hamlet when he says "now could I drink hot blood"?
Act - Scene 3
1. What does Claudius admit in his attempt to pray? Has the play actually had an effect on him? Why can't he ask for forgiveness?
2. What happens when Hamlet enters? Why doesn't Hamlet kill Claudius then? What is ironic about Hamlet's decision?
Act - Scene 4
1. Does Gertrude know that Claudius killed Hamlet's father?
2. Hamlet seems to be getting through to Gertrude when the Ghost enters. Why does the Ghost appear at this point? Who saw him then? Who sees him now? What is his message to Hamlet?
3. After the Ghost leaves, does Hamlet succeed in what he came to do? What is Gertrude's state when he leaves? What should she do, and what should she not do?